thanks. small clarification beforehand: i think "gender" as a term to describe "behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex" is a good and useful tool to describe aspects of society but identifying with one's gender through some made-up "gender identity" i find really stupid, (psychologically) unhealthy, reality-denying and i think actually enforces gender roles instead of softening them. (i can expand on all these points if someone wants me to).

hijra are almost like role-playing, though, and seem to me somewhat cultish and from the looks of it are exploited quite often (forced into doing it; being prostituted >:-( ).it's not something that's comparable to the nonbinary genderqueer folks we see in western culture. wikipedia even says "these identities have no exact match in the modern western taxonomy of gender and sexual orientation, and challenge western ideas of sex and gender". (with my worldview, i don't see the challenge btw).

also, the term "third gender" is not quite right, in my opinion. firstly, it's straight-up linked to sex, cause hijras are only those who are "assigned male at birth", so to my understanding a female born person can't reach this third gender from the other side of the spectrum - which shows it doesn't exactly work like a spectrum, cause some "genders" can only be reached from one both sides.furthermore, hijras don't show some magical new behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits but clearly adapt the feminine gender role in society. they are males who act like females. i don't see something "third" that doesn't fit the two binaries (sex-binary & gender binary).